In support of the Red Cross’s official National Hurricane Preparedness Week, Legacy CEO Phil Cox offers the following tips for how to prepare for hurricanes right now. Weather experts predict that this year U.S. states along the Atlantic will experience only two hurricanes, another “below average” season like last year’s. How strong they will be and how much damage they will create, however, is still up for debate. While it is difficult to know with what force these hurricanes will approach until they are already in action, past experience shows how imperative it is to prepare for this force of nature to prevent as much...

Every good pet owner makes sure that pets are fed, groomed, exercised, sheltered, and sometimes even clothed, but one area of care that many pet owners forget is to prepare their pets for emergency situations. If you are in the process of gathering supplies and knowledge to get your family prepared for a disaster, don’t neglect your favorite furry, feathery, or scaly friend. For the most part, pets’ needs in an emergency situation will be very similar to humans’ needs. The most important things you can do to prepare your pet for a disaster are to put together a...

With plenty of communities in the East still reeling from Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters happening all over the globe, there has been a lot of talk lately about what we can do as individuals and as societies to be better prepared for emergencies. Of course we know we need to have food and water and basic emergency supplies on hand, but people who have lived through emergencies say there is more to being prepared than this. A month or so ago, I began to compile a list of advice gathered from news articles, blogs, and discussion boards from...

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Benjamin Franklin A few months ago, I had an experience I don’t care to repeat ever again. I was running late for work (Don’t all good stories start that way?), and I threw my work bag together in a rush, tossed on some work clothes, and flew out the door to make my twenty-minute commute. After I was already on my way, I realized I had forgotten change for the parking meter at work. I crossed my fingers I would get lucky and not get a ticket. Then, as I got...

Just over a year ago, in the mountains near my hometown, there was a fire. A BIG fire. Around 1,400 homes were evacuated, and a state of emergency was declared. My daughter’s friend in Colombia even heard about it on the news. It was surreal to stand on the street corner with the neighbors at midnight watching as the fire approached our homes. The wall of fire was reportedly 15-20 feet high, and it was moving very fast toward the homes due to high winds. Although my street was not evacuated, some neighbors left voluntarily. We decided to stay, although...